Michael Weiss

It was how to get at the, quote, root causes of the war. So in other words... They want to do regime change in Ukraine, which means Zelensky out. They want to install a pro-Russian satrap to run the country. They want Ukraine completely demilitarized.

They want Ukraine nowhere near NATO, even though various presidents, including the last one, had said that Ukraine is not going to join NATO in the near future. And they want to really relitigate the post-Cold War European security architecture. So they want U.S. troops out of NATO's eastern flank. They want a whole kit and caboodle of things here, which doesn't just stop at Ukraine's borders.

They want Ukraine nowhere near NATO, even though various presidents, including the last one, had said that Ukraine is not going to join NATO in the near future. And they want to really relitigate the post-Cold War European security architecture. So they want U.S. troops out of NATO's eastern flank. They want a whole kit and caboodle of things here, which doesn't just stop at Ukraine's borders.

They want Ukraine nowhere near NATO, even though various presidents, including the last one, had said that Ukraine is not going to join NATO in the near future. And they want to really relitigate the post-Cold War European security architecture. So they want U.S. troops out of NATO's eastern flank. They want a whole kit and caboodle of things here, which doesn't just stop at Ukraine's borders.

So to go to Istanbul now in 2025, when Russia has a million soldiers either dead or wounded, much of its army has been hollowed out through attritional attacks. warfare over the last three years, you know, international sanctions regime on Russia still in place.

So to go to Istanbul now in 2025, when Russia has a million soldiers either dead or wounded, much of its army has been hollowed out through attritional attacks. warfare over the last three years, you know, international sanctions regime on Russia still in place.

So to go to Istanbul now in 2025, when Russia has a million soldiers either dead or wounded, much of its army has been hollowed out through attritional attacks. warfare over the last three years, you know, international sanctions regime on Russia still in place.

Russia does not control nearly, you know, as much territory as it did in 2022, and basically act as if Russia is still in that position of power. is ludicrous. And I think Zelensky, quite rightly, saw what this was about, and called both Trump and Putin's bluff and said, Oh, okay, great, I'll go to Istanbul. But I expect to negotiate with my direct peer, which is Vladimir Putin.

Russia does not control nearly, you know, as much territory as it did in 2022, and basically act as if Russia is still in that position of power. is ludicrous. And I think Zelensky, quite rightly, saw what this was about, and called both Trump and Putin's bluff and said, Oh, okay, great, I'll go to Istanbul. But I expect to negotiate with my direct peer, which is Vladimir Putin.

Russia does not control nearly, you know, as much territory as it did in 2022, and basically act as if Russia is still in that position of power. is ludicrous. And I think Zelensky, quite rightly, saw what this was about, and called both Trump and Putin's bluff and said, Oh, okay, great, I'll go to Istanbul. But I expect to negotiate with my direct peer, which is Vladimir Putin.

And you know, the Russians say, Zelensky is illegitimate. So Putin cannot sit across from Zelensky and treat him as a peer without completely undermining his own position. So they send, you know, Medinsky, former culture minister, propagandist, very low-level flunky, doesn't have a lot of wasta. They're sending the same team, basically, that they sent in 2022.

And you know, the Russians say, Zelensky is illegitimate. So Putin cannot sit across from Zelensky and treat him as a peer without completely undermining his own position. So they send, you know, Medinsky, former culture minister, propagandist, very low-level flunky, doesn't have a lot of wasta. They're sending the same team, basically, that they sent in 2022.

And you know, the Russians say, Zelensky is illegitimate. So Putin cannot sit across from Zelensky and treat him as a peer without completely undermining his own position. So they send, you know, Medinsky, former culture minister, propagandist, very low-level flunky, doesn't have a lot of wasta. They're sending the same team, basically, that they sent in 2022.

So it's just a reboot of what they tried and failed to do back then. Now, the danger here is, you know, Zelensky has a real, a proper team in place. He's got Foreign Minister there, he's got significant, you know, high level government officials, not least of all himself.

So it's just a reboot of what they tried and failed to do back then. Now, the danger here is, you know, Zelensky has a real, a proper team in place. He's got Foreign Minister there, he's got significant, you know, high level government officials, not least of all himself.

So it's just a reboot of what they tried and failed to do back then. Now, the danger here is, you know, Zelensky has a real, a proper team in place. He's got Foreign Minister there, he's got significant, you know, high level government officials, not least of all himself.

But what the Russians are trying to do is do this sort of Potemkin theater, and then say, well, we had our direct talks, the Ukrainians are intransigent, they will not come to the table, they will not make concessions, and then basically cajole Donald Trump into applying even more pressure on the Ukrainians, which he's very susceptible of doing, right?

But what the Russians are trying to do is do this sort of Potemkin theater, and then say, well, we had our direct talks, the Ukrainians are intransigent, they will not come to the table, they will not make concessions, and then basically cajole Donald Trump into applying even more pressure on the Ukrainians, which he's very susceptible of doing, right?

But what the Russians are trying to do is do this sort of Potemkin theater, and then say, well, we had our direct talks, the Ukrainians are intransigent, they will not come to the table, they will not make concessions, and then basically cajole Donald Trump into applying even more pressure on the Ukrainians, which he's very susceptible of doing, right?

He does not extract anything from the Russians. He signed off on this European-led initiative, which said, you have until this past Monday to do a 30-day ceasefire. If you don't, we will impose crippling new sanctions. Well, it's now Thursday. Where are the sanctions? Right. And so the Europeans, unfortunately, look a bit weak and humiliated by not sticking to their own guns on this.